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Alan Wake PC | Tech, performance and information thread

derFeef

Member
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Please use this thread for discussion about the PC release, technical issues you may have, performance tips etc.
There are separate threads for Alan Wake and a story thread (spoilers!) linked below.
I (or a mod I guess) am going to update the OP with useful information if anything pops up of course.

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Developer: Remedy Entertainment / Nitro Games
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Release platform: Steam / Origin / Retail
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Price: 30$ / 35$ for the LE
The collectors edition on Steam will include the Alan Wake Game + DLCS, Alan Wake Files (PDF), Developer Commentary and the Alan Wake Soundtrack.​
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Digital release date: 16. February 2012
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Retail release date: 2. March 2012

Useful links:


PC graphic settings:
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PC retail boxes:
(Better than) Standard Edition:
- Premium packaging
- Disc 1: Main game plus both DLCs „The Signal“ and „The Writer“
- Disc 2: OST of the game including 13 Tracks (Audio-CD)
- 6 Post cards with different pictures/scenes from the game
- Manual
- 1 poster (printed on both sides)
- 7 stickers with different pictures/scenes/characters from the game

Collectors' Edition:
- Premium packaging
- Disc 1: Main game plus both DLCs „The Signal“ and „The Writer“; Additionally, the main game of the LCE contains audio commentary and background information by Remedy, which can be switched on in addition to the game
- Disc 2: OST of the game including 13 Tracks (Audio-CD)
- Disc 3: Bonus Disc: History of Remedy, Making of “Alan Wake”, Making of a thriller, music videos by the “Old gods of Asgard”, several trailers to the game, Storyboard (witch concept art) as a movie clip
- The “Alan Wake Files”; 144 pages with evidence on the mysterious incidents around Alan Wake and Bright Falls, compiled by the ficticious author Clay Steward (same print format as the game manual )
- 6 Post cards with different pictures/scenes from the game
- Manual
- 1 poster (printed on both sides)
- 7 stickers with different pictures/scenes/characters from the game
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GamersGate have it for preorder:

Collector's Edition, Regular Edition, and you can get the extra stuff from the Collector's Edition separately if you want!


Drivers:


Performance overview:
 
£24.95???? Really? I will have to wait this one out...Just bought a Vita saw I am balling on a budget. Really should be £15 max considering its 3 years old or so.
 

WX3

Member
I will be double dipping on this. I wasn't aware of the pc version until just recently which made the wait bearable. I just hope its an impressive production.
 

Jtrizzy

Member
yes it does. I was just thinking about the reactions if this didn't have it after the whole comfy couch debacle.
 
If the gameplay was so fun why didn't you finish it?

Finishing up law school and the Bar Exam. That and the story was just really confusing at times towards the end, that when I figured the end was near I couldn't motivate myself to finish it. Plus the DLC had been delayed so I figured no rush to finish it. I eventually sold it for something else (no clue what now).
 

Corky

Nine out of ten orphans can't tell the difference.
I wonder if they re-rendered the pre-rendered cutscenes so that we're not sitting through some Bink funhouse again.

Oh good question, that would be a bummer but I seriously doubt they went back and redid the cutscenes. Unless they're "saved" somewhere and all you gotta do is render them at a higher quality.
 

derFeef

Member
Oh god question, that would be a bummer but I seriously doubt they went back and redid the cutscenes. Unless they're "saved" somewhere and all you gotta do is render them at a higher quality.

I remember reading that the cutscnes are the same.
 

derFeef

Member
Good stuff, although don't read the comments, lol.

It's amazing how much detail was lost due to the low resolution, the assets were great but so much just wasn't getting through. PC version looks stellar, though.

Yes, the last picture is a great example. So much more depth, even in those "small" screenshots.
 

randomwab

Member
I want that physical collectors edition, but I also really wanted to replay this before American Nightmare hit next week. Ugh.
 

daxter01

8/8/2010 Blackace was here
It's amazing how much detail was lost due to the low resolution, the assets were great but so much just wasn't getting through. PC version looks stellar, though.
360 version is more cinematic based on PC gamers comparison
 

acm2000

Member
wish rememdy would go back and patch in fxaa into 360 version, enabling them to up the res to 720p, such a stupid decision to lower the res just to have 4xAA
 

derFeef

Member
wish rememdy would go back and patch in fxaa into 360 version, enabling them to up the res to 720p, such a stupid decision to lower the res just to have 4xAA

Notching up the reolution would cost more performance than upping the MSAA one notch I guess - it was a compromise. American Nightmare has FXAA btw.
 

acm2000

Member
Notching up the reolution would cost more performance than upping the MSAA one notch I guess - it was a compromise. American Nightmare has FXAA btw.

i thought they lowered the res to get the 4xaa into memory requirements, comprimise they, at the time, thought worthy, but with aw:an being 720p/fxaa, seems they learn from their mistake, and too late to patch goty2010 now
 

derFeef

Member
I got banned by Amir0x in the Xbox 360 thread for Alan Wake for saying that the game was a blurry mess and shameful for running at sub-720p.

Sweet vindication!

Well, I guess that was after everyone already gave their opinion about this issue and it was a pain to discuss the game. Anyway, I was also fooled but brain_stew punished me with the truth-bomb. The game is blurry on the 360, no doubt, but that never got into the way for me to enjoy it.
 
Well, I guess that was after everyone already gave their opinion about this issue and it was a pain to discuss the game. Anyway, I was also fooled but brain_stew punished me with the truth-bomb. The game is blurry on the 360, no doubt, but that never got into the way for me to enjoy it.

sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind. i've long defended the way Alan Wake looked, because SOME of what it did, it did incredibly well like the lighting and the environmental effects. i don't really blame people for being incapable of seeing past the garbage image quality in the game.

it's really going to shine on PC (even if it makes people's machines sweat).

i'm not sure where 1440 x 800 resolution of these screens comes from.

people who thought this game looked crap are going to be blown away by the PC version.

and yeah, i doubt the FMVs have been rerendered, but i wouldn't call the 360 ones crap.
 
Not gonna lie, i kind of like the blurry 360 look more *at least in this shot comparison*

uhm. poke yourself in the eyes then or borrow someone elses glasses who has a different prescription or squint or run it at a none native resolution on your computer or actually smear the screen with vaseline.

it isn't just the blur either:

Mill-360.jpg

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i don't know if it's due to better MSAA, FXAA, or better SSAO, but the chain link fence on the right looks really weird on the 360 version and much better on the PC version. trees look fuller. also you can clearly see more detail in the shadows (compare the shadows on the train car on the left).
 
Alan Wake's image quality on 360 was bearable in 2010, but 2 years later I wouldn't wanna have to play that version again. Looking forward to the PC version today, curious how it runs on my PC.
 

derFeef

Member
i don't know if it's due to better MSAA, FXAA, or better SSAO, but the chain link fence on the right looks really weird on the 360 version and much better on the PC version. trees look fuller. also you can clearly see more detail in the shadows (compare the shadows on the train car on the left).

I guess the alpha pixels add up on the fence because of the low resolution and AA, so it looks way darker far away.
 
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